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Some thoughts on Intuition:
The big impediment to intuitive trading, versus being intuitive in most
other situations is the risk that's involved. Its far easier to get into
"flow" when creating a sculpture, playing an instrument, designing a
machine, etc. Nevertheless, the best traders have all found their way to
this elusive state of mind, and they all mention excitement+enjoyment as a
necessary ingredient. I see way too many posts about trading as requiring
"no-emotion", or that successful trading is boring. I'm not saying to
become emotionally tied to the swings of the market, but instead, to find
enjoyment and wonder in the process. Such things as analysis, order
placement, exit, stop placement, etc.. While results ultimately determine
our success, its concentrating on the process that ultimately gives the best
results.
So, considering that probably everyone can identify with the feelings and
characteristics of intuition in some other endeavor, in trading it seems
much harder to achieve. We all know the impediments: losses, mistakes, not
wanting to be wrong, fear of failure, fear of success, not meeting
expectations. fear of Tradestation crashing <g>.... In essence, it all
comes down to how well we are able to minimize and eliminate negative mental
energy. Put in another perspective, traders are exposed to mental
carcinogens on a daily basis, and so we need to use tools and techniques to
dissolve them.
Some very important tools that can be used are self hypnosis, affirmations,
meditation. Fot those that shy away from this stuff, I strongly encourage a
second look. Self hypnosis is nothing more than listening to affirmations
under a relaxed state, and meditation is simply witnessing one's thoughts.
You certainly don't have to become a Zen master.
Two good books on this topic:
Flow- the Pyschology of Optimum Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly
The Intuitive Trader- Robert Koppel
Regards,
Chris Lober
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